State Sen. Gretchen Whitmer says she won't run against Snyder in 2014

Jan. 30, 2013

Gretchen Whitmer

Written by

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

The election for governor is nearly two years away, but state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer -- one of the most-mentioned challengers to Gov. Rick Snyder -- said Wednesday that she won't run for the state's top job.

The decision by Democrats about a gubernatorial run will have to happen soon, though, because Snyder will be an odds-on favorite for re-election, said one Democratic strategist.

"It's going to take a serious candidate with serious funding to beat him," said Lansing political consultant Ed Sarpolus. "He will not be easy to beat."

Although Snyder hasn't said he's definitively in yet, he met with potential big-dollar donors in Grand Rapids last week.

Two polls done in December and January showed wildly different results for Snyder.

A poll done by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling in December, after controversial right-to-work legislation was signed, showed Snyder losing to three possible Democratic candidates: U.S. Rep. Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township, former U.S. Rep. and state Sen. Mark Schauer of Battle Creek, and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, who lost to Snyder in 2010. A poll done in January by Republican pollster Mitchell Resource and Communications showed Snyder breaking the 50% favorability mark.

Bill Ballenger, editor of the political newsletter Inside Michigan Politics, said Snyder should hope for better economic news if he wants to ensure re-election.

"He's done so much that's controversial, and the state is still in rocky shape economically," he said. "I don't see how he could be considered a shoo-in for victory if we still have a high unemployment rate."

Only one thing is certain at this point: Snyder definitely won't face Whitmer, an East Lansing Democrat who said in an e-mail to supporters Wednesday that her obligation as a mother to two daughters, ages 9 and 10, was her first priority.

"Being their mom is the single most important thing in the world to me," she said. "To be the kind of mom I want to be for my girls simply does not allow me to make the kind of commitment necessary to run a successful campaign for governor at this point in their lives."

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She didn't address the other big job she has considered -- running for state attorney general against Republican Bill Schuette.

Prior to the 2010 election, many of the candidates had announced their intentions to run by mid-2009, and Democratic challengers are expected to begin lining up by this summer.

Of other candidates mentioned, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel has said he will not run for governor in 2014, and instead will seek re-election to his current job. Bernero, likewise, said last week that he intends to run for re-election as Lansing mayor.

Schauer is considering a run for governor. And Peters, in a statement released Wednesday by his spokesman, Jared Smith, said: "Congressman Peters is focused on serving the families he was elected to represent by working to help businesses create good paying middle-class jobs across the Greater Detroit region."

Sarpolus said the race comes down to Schauer or Peters.

"It's still going to come down to, 'What do Mark Schauer and Gary Peters want to do?' " he said. "The have the potential to raise the money needed for the race."

Also mentioned as a possible Democratic contender is state Board of Education member John Austin.